As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Thursday 26 October 2017

Britain's smallest bird finds sanctuary in gardens

15/10/2017


The British Trust for Ornithology’s (BTO) Garden Bird Feeding Survey (GBFS) has revealed that a cold spell in late winter 2016-17 caused an influx of birds to feeders, including Goldcrests in particular.  

Winter 2016-17 was generally mild and garden feeders consequently quiet, but results from the GBFS found that more birds were making use of the supplementary food we put out during a cold snap in late January and early February. 

One of the species coming to British feeders in the colder weather was Goldcrest. In fact, Garden BirdWatchers have recorded high numbers of the species in gardens over the last two winters, with counts in February 2017 being 35 per cent higher than the average for the previous five years.

So far this year, it looks promising for another Goldcrest garden invasion, with high preliminary counts for September. Numbers of the species are severely affected by low winter temperatures, but the predominately mild winter weather of recent years might have helped to boost numbers.

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